Previews

Sonic the Hedgehog

But most important of all was the blistering speed that Sonic can move at. There are essentially two levels of speed too. The first is still really fast and represents the movement around the hub world levels and the regular stages. But second level is reserved for specific areas in the regular levels, and this is where the coined "mach speed areas" are found. The mach speed content uses a zoom-out camera perspective and some clever camera work to give a much increased sensation of speed. These stages literally look like the fastest moving sections of pretty much any action game I've ever seen. Impressive to say the least. Again, it appeared as though some control issues still need to be rectified here too.

Each of the world stages will also contain multiple paths which can be taken to beat them. It's going to be up to the player to figure out which way best suits them; some routes being shorter and faster, while other routes might garner more items, pickups and secrets. A cool new mechanic of wall-running has been added along with some slick slipstream air riding sessions too, which add a sense of innovation to the game in general.

I've also been reliably informed that the Sonic Team is gunning for a sweet frame rate of 60 fps across the board -- something which hopefully shouldn't be hard to achieve on the next-gen hardware of the 360 and PS3. The music and sound effects were classic Sonic all the way, and of course visually, things are looking mighty clean and crisp. While the initial appearance of Sonic the Hedgehog reminded me of Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast, that's only really attributable to the fact the game is in 3D as opposed to 2D. This is not an adventure title with RPG flavoring.

After wrapping up the demo, Sega hinted that Sonic the Hedgehog should be shipping to coincide with the launch of the PlayStation 3, at which time it'll also be available for the 360 as well. Mention of a Sonic the Hedgehog game for the Nintendo Wii was made too, but we were informed that it would be a completely different Sonic experience than the one arriving on Sony's and Microsoft's platforms. It's looking like a return to the series' original roots could be just what the doctor ordered for Sonic and his friends.